France unveiled a spectacular near
half-billion-euro (613-million-US-dollar) overhaul of one of its beloved
buildings Monday, driving a new pedestrian boulevard through the Grand
Palais
in Paris to link the Champs Elysees with the River Seine.

Culture Minister Francoise Nyssen said the huge project will
completely
open up the enormous complex of galleries and exhibition spaces which also
houses the city's Palace of Discoveries science museum.
First built for the Exposition Universelle world fair in 1900, which
helped
cement the rise of the Art Nouveau movement, the giant glass vault of its
main
building has become a landmark of the city.

The new light-filled pedestrian street driven through the complex will
allow visitors to enter it through a central concourse uniting the museum,
the
Grand Palais galleries which host blockbuster exhibitions and the main
exhibition building, Nyssen said.
She said the French state will fork out 288 million euros of the
466-million-euro budget.

The French fashion label Chanel, whose designer Karl Lagerfeld uses
the
Palais for his hugely theatrical shows, is donating 30 million euros towards
the costs.
In return, the original grand ornamental entrance to the Palais will be
named after its founder Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel.
The building will close completely for more than two years from the end
of
2020 so that the work can be completed in time for the Paris Olympics in
2024,
when it will host the fencing and Taekwondo events.

Nyssen said the complex is unwieldy, under-equipped and in need of
serious
renovation and in a "state which compromises its capacity to welcome the
public and its long-term future."
But that will all change thanks to the masterplan by Franco-Italian
architects LAN (Local Architecture Network), which also envisages a new roof
terrace with panoramic views over the French capital.

The new "street" through the complex -- baptised the "Rue des Palais"
--
will be open to pedestrians and house ticket offices, cloakrooms and
restaurants and end in a garden overlooking the Seine.
The first parts of the remodelled complex will open in the early months
of
2023, the architects said. (AFP)

A wardrobe staple, the t-shirt is being
celebrated in a London exhibition as a master communication tool used to
carry
subversive and campaigning messages to the world.

"T-Shirt: Cult - Culture - Subversion" opens on Friday and runs to May
6 at
London's Style and Textile Museum, where more than 100 t-shirts trace the
impact it has had on popular culture and society in recent decades.
"Since its earliest incarnation at the start of the 20th century, the
t-shirt has served as a means to broadcast social, musical and political
passions," the museum declared.

The humble t-shirt was introduced to the US Navy kit list in 1913,
as a
short-sleave white cotton undervest, but the term "t-shirt" didn't make it
to
the Merriam-Webster Dictionary until 1920.
Gaining popularity through the decades, it hit the Hollywood big time in
1951 by clinging to the chest of actor Marlon Brandon in "A Streetcar Named
Desire".
But the t-shirt has also been harnessed for political and social
campaigns,
on everything from the environment to gay rights, as a simple tool able to
be
reproduced on a mass scale.
"It's the kind of most democratic form of clothing, but also with the use
of silkscreen you can reproduce messages over and over," said Dennis
Nothdruft, head of exhibitions at the museum.

'God Save The Queen'

Punk fashion priestess Vivenne Westwood harnessed the t-shirt in
1977,
printing an image created by artist Jamie Reid with "God Save The Queen"
scrawled across a portrait of the British monarch.
"The Queen is a sacred object in England, so just to do that was such a
shock to the system," Nothdruft said.
Westwood has continued to use t-shirts in her collections and catwalk
shows, in 2012 printing her own portrait with "I am Julian Assange" written
on
it in reference to the WikiLeaks founder.

An image of cartoon Mickey Mouse in front of the cloud of an atom
bomb was
used in 1976 as a critique of US policies by artists John Dove and Molly
White. The t-shirt was deemed "anti-American" by Disney, which according to
the exhibition forced the designers to stop selling it.
Other artists who have printed their views onto t-shirts include Keith
Haring, the celebrated American street artist, who created the "Ignorance Fear, Silence = Death" image in 1990.
It was designed for the organisation Act Up, as part of a campaign
against
homophobia and a lack of knowledge about AIDS.

Anti-Brexit

The t-shirt shows no sign of falling out of fashion, with
politically-charged messages such as artist Jeremy Deller's 2017 approach to
Britain's departure from the European Union.
He wrote "Don't worry, fuck Brexit," around a smiley face in matching
yellow, combining with the blue background to match the colours of the EU
flag.
The exhibition also explores how the clothing is used by luxury brands
such
as Dior, which last year created a "We Should All Be Feminists" t-shirt
using
the title of a book by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Another exhibit -- "No More Page Three" -- brought the protest
against
topless models in The Sun tabloid to the heart of Britain's political
establishment.
MP Caroline Lucas wore the t-shirt to parliament in 2013, only to be told
her clothing was not in line with regulations, according to the exhibition.
She held up an image of one of the page three models, and replied: "It
strikes me as an irony that this t-shirt is seen as offensive." (AFP)

London - London-based design label Cos has teamed up with American artist
Phillip K. Smith III for its seventh consecutive installation at the Salone
del Mobile during Milan Design Week. The move marks Cos first collaboration
with Smith, who is set to present a large-scale sculptural installation.

“My work is created in direct response to the surrounding environment,
becoming a canvas that interacts with both the urban and natural
landscape,” said Phillip K. Smith III on the installation. “I’m thrilled to
partner with Cos to create this unique sculptural experience which will
reframe the historic space.”

The installation is said to have been inspired by Italian Renaissance
architecture, the Milanese sky and the simplicity of Cos design aesthetic.
Smith III will create the site-specific outdoor sculpture in the
16th-century courtyard and garden of Palazzo Isimbardi, which has been
designed to offer an individual experience to each visitor, through its
interaction with light and time.

“At Cos, we have been inspired by the way Phillip K. Smith III’s
installations interact with their natural surroundings allowing us to
experience spaces in new ways, whether in deserts or on beaches, and are
eager to see how his work responds to the environment of Milan,” said Karin
Gustafsson, Creative Director of Cos in a statement. “It is from these
experiences of art, which reshape the way we see the world around us, that
we derive so much of our inspiration at Cos.”

The installation will be open to the public from April 17 to 22 at the
Palazzo Isimbardi, Corso Monforte 35 in Milan. Cos has presented unique and
innovative collaborations with artists, designers and architects in Milan
during Salone del Mobile since 2012. Past collaborators include Gary Card,
Bonsoir Paris, Nendo, Snarkitecture, and Sou Fujimoto.

Haider Ackermann has been named the new jury president of the Hyères
International Festival of Style, Photography and Style Accessories.
Other members of the prize juries and their respective presidents, as well
as the finalists competing in the different categories have also been
announced. The Style Prize jury will be presided over by Haider
Ackermann, the Creative Director of LVMH-owned maison Berluti.

LVMH is a sponsor of the event, underscoring the Group’s engagement with
the values of creativity and excellence, two essential criteria in
selecting the talents and finalists for the festival, which is set for
April 26-30.

About the Hyères festival

Every spring in the South of France, the Festival spotlights young
promising artists in the fields of fashion, accessories and photography.

The festival proposes diverse exhibitions, professional panel discussions
and three competitions. The competitions showcase 10 fashion designers, 10
accessories designers and 10 photographers selected by a jury of
professionals in each field. The work of the chosen candidates is presented
to the jury and the public in either fashion shows (designers) or group
exhibitions (accessories designers, photographers).

INTERVIEW Lidewij
Edelkoort presented her new art gallery to the industry on Thursday 18
January at 30 Boulevard de Saint Jacques in Paris. The inaugurating
exhibition in the new gallery, named "The Gift To Be Simple”, highlighted
five young designers developing in the area between the vintage and the
modern. Although the concept is new, the address itself has become
unavoidable for several years - it is in fact the venue which houses the
fashion agency that Lidewij Edelkoort founded in 1975.

Over the years, Edelkoort has established herself as a fashion and trend
forecaster. She is one of the most influential people in fashion, according
to Time Magazine. In honour of the inauguration of her design and art
gallery, Yankeemagazines asked her a number of questions concerning the state
of fashion and current trends.

How did the idea for this art gallery come about?

I already had a painting studio in the 1980s situated very close to the
premises of Colette, which did not yet exist. Rue Saint Honoré was
undeveloped at the time. I set up this painting gallery in my apartment
over several years. It was very popular and very successful; a lot of
people came to it. The previews were real parties. After I was forced to
move, I dedicated my life to many other things. For a long time I told
myself that this place (30 Boulevard de Saint Jacques,) would be fantastic
for design and, since there are lots of design exhibitions elsewhere, why
not do that here also and why not do something entertaining in Paris and
bring something back into the cultural life of Paris.

How do you choose the exhibitors?

By impulse, my knowledge, the trends. Clearly my eye is honed by trends,
and I always come across things in the search for new ideas. There will be
a little of everything, textiles, design, fashion, there are even toys and
vintage things. But it will still be different, there are no rules. We are
not going to push you in just one direction; we will be open in our
choices. Clearly I will prmote young talent as that is part of my work.
When my eye discovers a young talent, it always works and is therefore a
good springboard for their careers. There will not be only exhibitions; we
want to have meetings and discussions, and this place will allow us to
progress together.

You live and work in Paris. What does the city mean to you?

I have lived in Paris since I was 25 years old, and have therefore spent
the greater part of my life here. I feel Parisian, not of old lineage, but
still Parisian. Paris is my town. I love the beauty of the city, I love the
fact that there is a lot of art; I love the size of Paris; you can be
anonymous here. I come from a small country, the Netherlands, where it is
easy to know everyone. Here, things are more discreet. I particularly like
the fact that France does not take rapid strides into novelty; there is a
sense of traditions here which rescues us from the folly of modernity.

What is your opinion about current fashion?

It’s a long argument. It is still about clothing; there has still not been
any change and I don’t think there will be any for the time being. I think
that we are in the status quo; people are looking for something. There are
lots of signs that indicate that a new way will be found. Here in Paris,
there are loads of new initiatives that are very promising. But more time
is needed before that can become an actual reality. That is why we are
organising the “Anti-Style” meetings in Marseille over three days at the
beginning of June. People can come free of charge; we will listen to the
views of these people who are working to change things.

As an influential woman, what are your thoughts about the rise of
feminism and the hashtags #metoo, #balancetonporc that are currently making
the news?

I predicted all that two or three years ago. When I saw thousands of women
in the street, I was once again surprised by the force of trends and the
intuition that allowed me to predict it. It is a necessary movement. It is
the start of a reassessment. I think that women’s very way of seeing things
needs to be examined; they need to be freed from the inside, from their
paternalistic links, of all the models that no longer function in today’s
society. I think that there are other ways to live together as a society,
and we really need to move the debate along.

You dedicate the trends, you are an influencer, but what inspires
you?

It can come from everything and anything. There is no specific area of
research or key moments. It could be a word, a feeling, a person… But it is
true that inspiration very often comes to me through words. One word has an
effect on me and I feel a suggestion for the way forward, so I begin to
carry out research in that area. I am guided by intuition, and I simply
follow it. I think that in a way I was chosen for this profession.

Two months after legendary designer Azzedine
Alaia's sudden death plunged the fashion world into mourning, an exhibition
in
homage to the "King of Cling" opens Monday in his studios in Paris.
The Tunisian-born designer, renowned for the way his clothes hugged the
body, died suddenly in November aged 82, reportedly of heart failure after
falling down the stairs at his home.
The diminutive maverick, who ignored fashion week convention by showing
when and where he wanted, in July produced his first couture collection in
six
years to rapturous reviews.

Now some of his most iconic dresses are going on display in the
glass-roofed gallery next to his studio and home in the Marais district
where
he used to show his creations.
It includes the dress worn by supermodel Naomi Campbell, his longtime
friend and muse, when she led his last collection down the catwalk.
The pair were so close Campbell called the designer "Papa", and she was
inconsolable at his funeral in Tunis.

Alaia studied to be a sculptor and used his fine art training to
sculpt
with needle and thread.
Style historian Olivier Saillard, who has curated the show which runs
until June, said Alaia's famously flattering cut was timeless.
To hammer the point home, none of the dresses in "Azzedine Alaia: I am a
Couturier" have a panel explaining when they were made.
"I defy anyone to distinguish between a dress made in 1981, 1995 or
2017,"
he told AFP.
Instead curious visitors must consult a catalogue at the door.

'Last of the couturiers'

Saillard described Alaia as the "last of the couturiers", capable of
doing
everything himself and making his mastery invisible.
"Like Balenciaga and all those who knew how to cut and sew, he moved
further and further away from making an obvious show of his brilliant
technique."
He said his clothes "didn't shout, there was nothing bling about them",
instead he went for an eternal style that never went out of fashion.
Almost all the dresses in the show -- including ones he made for pop star
and actress Grace Jones -- are in black or white.
"Alaia used to say that you can make an idea more precise in black and
not
dilute it," Saillard said.

The famous hooded dress he made for Jones and the fire brigade-red
zip one
he created for pop superstar Rihanna are among the 41 classic dresses on
display.
Although his private life was always a mystery, the designer kept an open
house in Paris during fashion weeks as celebrities rubbed shoulders with
students and waifs and strays at his large kitchen table where he cooked for
all comers.

Alaia moved to Paris at the height of the Algerian war of
independence,
where he soon got a job with Christian Dior, only to be let go because he
did
not have the right immigration papers.
Despite the setback, he moved on to work with Guy Laroche and Thierry
Mugler before going out on his own with his own wealthy clientele.
A foundation has now been created to safeguard his work, and will also
hold
regular exhibitions from his vast personal collection of couture.
A retrospective of his work, "Azzedine Alaia, The Couturier", will open
at
the Design Museum in London in May, when his brand will also open its first
British boutique. (AFP)

Dismissed as "fiction" by the Versace family
and met with mixed reviews, a controversial new drama depicting the 1997
murder of Gianni Versace makes its US television debut Wednesday.

"The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story" is the second
edition of a crime story franchise whose first iteration won rave reviews
and
a bevy of awards for revisiting the 1995 O.J. Simpson murder trial.

The latest nine-episode series begins airing on television network FX
late
Wednesday, before being released on demand in Europe later this week.
Like "The People vs. O.J. Simpson," which won two Golden Globes and nine
Emmy Awards, "The Assassination of Gianni Versace" is a 1990s celebrity
crime
story, uniting fame and wealth with the darker underbelly of human
nature.

Like "The People," which spun a larger narrative of racial tension
between
black and white Americans, "The Assassination" paints a wider portrait of
gay
life in America in the 1990s, prejudice, hostility and bigotry.

Versace is played by Venezuelan heartthrob Edgar Ramirez, Oscar-winner
Penelope Cruz is Donatella -- the hard-headed sister who took over the label
after her brother's death -- and singer Ricky Martin is Versace's long-term
boyfriend, Antonio D'Amico.

on Jan 8, 2018 at 10:18pm PST

But publicity in the run-up to its release has been dominated by the
Versace family, who released an angry statement from their global fashion
emporium in Milan on January 10.

They slammed the series as a "work of fiction," saying they had "neither
authorized nor had any involvement whatsoever in the forthcoming TV series"
and reacted with particular fury to claims that Versace was HIV-positive.
"After so many years we still lack respect for the dead, we want to
create
a scandal around someone who can no longer defend themselves," said
Donatella.

D'Amico, who found Versace on the steps of his beachfront Miami mansion
just moments after the July 15, 1997 killing, has complained that images he
had seen online of his reaction in the series are incorrect.

"The picture of Ricky Martin holding the body in his arms is ridiculous,"
he told the Observer newspaper last July. "Maybe it's the director's poetic
license, but that is not how I reacted."

'Love and respect'

"Its responsibility may be to just be true enough. But there's something
tragic and unfair about becoming a spectacle in death, especially in a
spectacle that's more about a murderer than any of his victims," griped a
New
York Times review.

The series is based on the book "Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni
Versace and the Largest Failed Manhunt in US History," by Maureen Orth,
which
was published two years after the killing and retraces Cunanan's three-month
murder spree.

As such, the drama is centered less on the Italian fashion genius and
more
on spree killer, social climber and compulsive liar Andrew Cunanan, who
murdered four other gay men before killing Versace. His motives remain
shrouded in mystery.

Murdering men from San Diego to Miami, Cunanan was on America's list of
top
10 most wanted criminals for more than a month before the Versace murder.
Cunanan -- portrayed by actor Darren Criss -- comes across as an enigma,
at
times brilliant and charming but also narcissistic and violent. He committed
suicide, aged 27, a few days after assassinating 50-year-old Versace.

The 1990s were a time when living openly as a gay man was still met with
prejudice and bigotry in the United States, 18 years before the US Supreme
Court ruled that same-sex marriage is a legal right.

Orth suggests in her book that the lackluster investigation into
Cunanan's
murders stemmed at least in part from the fact that the victims were gay.
At least some filming took place in Versace's Miami home, which is today
a
boutique hotel where rooms can cost in excess of 1,000 dollars a night.

Cruz, whose performance has excited critics -- and who has worn Versace
on
the red carpet -- said she won Donatella's tacit blessing before accepting
the
role. "If somebody was going to do it, she was really happy that it was me,
because I think she knows what I feel for her," she told US chat show host
Ellen DeGeneres.

"They're the most generous, kind people. It's important for me that when
she sees what I've done, she can feel the love and respect that I have put
there," she said. (AFP)

Photo: FX Promotional poster The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American
Crime Story

London - A new exhibition exploring the innovative designs and use of print
by London-based designer Mary Katrantzou has opened in the Dallas
Contemporary. Entitled Mary, Queen of Prints the solo exhibition
marks the first time the designer's previous collections are displayed
under one roof and coincides with the 10 year anniversary of Katrantzou’s
namesake brand.

The exhibition, curated by Museum Director Peter Doroshenko and Director of
Exhibitions Justine Ludwig, consists of 200 designs from Katrantzou, as
well as accessories, textiles, and sketches from the designer. The items on
display showcase Katrantzou’s numerous sources of inspiration, ranging from
the pages of Architectural Digest to Fantasia. The garments shown also
offer visitors a closer look at the designer’s inventive tailoring and
techniques, while celebrating her unique take on fashion.

Dallas Contemporary hosts debut solo exhibition on Mary Katrantzou

“Print can be as definitive as a cut or a drape and allows a woman to
filter beauty found in design, in a subversive way,” said Mart Katrantzou
on her work. “All my prints are constructed through digital technology.
Digital print allows me to experiment with print in a way that fine art and
other methods could not. It opens up a huge spectrum for possibility; I can
create possibility out of impossibility, surrealism out of realism and both
vice versa.”

The solo exhibition is organised through colour groupings instead of
chronologically, as the designer’s use of colour has remained central to
her aesthetic since the launch of her brand. Together, the garments shown
in Mary, Queen of Prints create a prismatic field of colour
within the Dallas Contemporary space. The exhibition runs from January 14
to March 4, 2018.

Born in Athens, Greece, Katrantzou studied architecture at Rhode Island
School of Design and graduated with a BA in Textile design and an MA in
Style from Central Saint Martins. Her famous graduation show in 2008,
which featured trompe l’oeil prints of oversized jewellery on jersey-bonded
dresses, took the industry by storm. Following her graduation show,
Katrantzou established her namesake brand, which was immediately secured by
a number of stockists such as Browns, Colette and Joyce.

She now boasts more than 100 premium stockists, ranging from Selfridges,
Matchesfashion.com, Saks and Harrods.

The Kunsthal museum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, is set to
open a new fashion exhibition this summer in honor of the 25th anniversary
of Dutch designer duo Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren, also known as
Viktor & Rolf. Entitled 'Viktor & Rolf: Style Artists 25 Years' the new
exhibition, put together by the Amsterdam-based designers themselves and
Canadian curator Thierry-Maxime Loriot, aims to explore the different areas
of inspiration in the designers' world.

The exhibition will present the luxury fashion house's radical conception
of 'wearable art' while looking at the numerous areas that make their
designs unique in the contemporary fashion world. "With exquisite
craftsmanship and dreamy silhouettes, sometimes made from tinkling bells or
red carpet, the fashion artists Viktor & Rolf – a real Dutch national
treasure – have been creating wearable art for the past twenty-five years
in the most unique and singular style," said Thierry-Maxime Loriot, curator
of the exhibition.

Set to run from May 27 to September 30, 2018, the exhibition will display a
number of the most spectacular and avant-garde creations from the designers
haute couture work. Over 45 pieces from the designers' collections, ranging
from stage costumes created for ballet and opera to designs from Viktor &
Rolf's archive and international museum collections will be shown.

"After the success of our retrospective exhibition in Melbourne, we are
proud that it will now be traveling to the Kunsthal Rotterdam," said
Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren in a joint statement. "Apart from showing
our work on the catwalk, we also enjoy presenting it as an exhibition. In
this way, everyone can see it, not just that handful of people attending
the shows in Paris."

In addition, the 'Viktor & Rolf: Style Artists 25 Years' exhibition will
include a selection of Viktor & Rolf's work-in-progress "Dolls": replicas
of antique dolls dressed in the designers' most iconic looks as well as
special pieces from their newest collections ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’
and ‘Action Dolls’, which have never been displayed before.

"The Kunsthal and Viktor & Rolf are exactly the same age. It is therefore
not surprising that the two coinciding 25th anniversaries have led to this
unique collaboration that perfectly matches our programming," said Emily
Ansenk, Director Kunsthal. "This retrospective of the first 25 years of
Viktor&Rolf stems from a great admiration for their experimental designs
that are continuously exploring the boundaries between art and fashion. It
offers us an extraordinary opportunity to experience the unconventional
creativity of this innovative fashion duo."

The 'Viktor & Rolf: Style Artists 25 Years' exhibition is based on the
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne exhibition.

Trend forecaster Lidewij Edelkoort will open a public design gallery
from Jan. 18 at her headquarters in Paris.

The space at 30 Boulevard Saint-Jacques will show design as well as arts
and crafts: “everything that in my eyes deserves to be shown, collected and
cherished at this moment in time, illustrating and reflecting our culture,”
said a statement on the website of the trend forecaster. Brands and
organizations close to Edelkoort's philosophy will be promoted at the
gallery and creators of sustainable products.

The gallery will host events such as public debates, fashion shows and a
pop-up shop of Heartwear, a nonprofit brand created by Lidewij and fashion
designers to help artisans produce on a larger scale without comprising
their culture and environment they live in.